Maoists attack NC MP

KHOTANG: Around 60 Maoist cadres, including Khotang district secretary of the CPN (Maoist) Prithvi, on Monday allegedly stormed Dandagaun of Khotang district where an election meeting of the Nepali Congress (NC) was going on. They resorted to vandalism and manhandled NC lawmaker and contestant in constituency no. 2 of Khotang Shiv Kumar Basnet, deputy superintendent of police Dipak Thapa said, adding that pamphlets and flags of the Nepali Congress were torn. According to Thapa, police reached the meeting venue when the Maoists had surrounded Basnet. Protesting the incident, Basnet’s aide Dinesh Ghimire has lodged a complaint at the district election office. However, Maoist district member Mukti denied his party’s involvement in the incident and claimed that locals were behind it. The Nepali Congress said the next poll meeting will be held on March 28. — HNS

Office locked

TULSIPUR: Locals of Tulsipur padlocked the office of the Drinking Water Management Committee here for two hours on Sunday as the supply of drinking water remained halted for over a week. The lock was lifted after a meeting held on the initiative of local administration and political parties agreed to address the water woe in a week. — RSS

Sharma’s take on CA

BAGLUNG BAZAAR: Central member of the CPN-Maoist Dinanath Sharma said here on Sunday that the Constituent Assembly (CA) election is not something in which a particular party’s win or loss matters. Addressing a mass meeting, Sharma said the constituent assembly will draft a new constitution that will ensure a bright future for Nepal and abolish the monarchy. — RSS

APF ASI missing

MAHOTTARI: Armed Police Force ASI Mitra Lal Neupane has been missing since Sunday night. ASI Neupane, a resident of Syangja who was deputed at APF election security base camp in constituency no 6 at Sundarpur in Mahottari, went out of contact and is suspected to have been abducted. APF SP Madan Bista of the security base camp in Jaleshwor said he was not authorised to speak on the issue as it was out of his jurisdiction. — HNS

Man assaulted

MAHOTTARI: An unknown gang attacked Birendra Yadav of Balawa VDC-8 leaving him seriously injured on Sunday night. Police said two persons who came on a motorcycle attacked Yadav when he was asleep. Yadav is undergoing treatment in the Janakpur Zonal Hospital, SP Purna Singh Khadka said. — HNS

Maoists return house

DANG: The CPN-Maoist recently returned a building owned by Anita Shah, manager of Deukhuri Lamahi based Rapti Distillery, which they had seized five years ago, to its owner. The building was returned to the owner keeping in view our party’s agreement with other political parties and the government at several times, Maoist Chaulahi VDC in-charge Bishworaj Acharya said on Monday. — HNS

Teachers poll officers

TAPLEJUNG: Schoolteachers are being deputed as election officers in Taplejung because of shortage of gazetted officers, district election officer Chandra Bahadur Saru said. Only gazetted officers are eligible to be appointed as election officers but lack of gazetted officers here has forced us to hire teachers as election officers, the election office said. — HNS

Rapist arrested

RAUTAHAT: Police on Monday morning arrested Nur Alam Ansari of Santapur Dostiya VDC-4, Rautahat, on the charge of raping a four-year-old girl, Rautahat district police office said. Ansari had allegedly raped the child seven months ago, the police said. Ansari was arrested from local Katahariya bazaar and preparations are on to file a case against him, SP Laxman Neupane said. — HNS